A first in France: a hypermarket will open soon on Sunday afternoon, without staff, but with automatic cash registers and vigils. The only human presence will be that of a "cash coach" and some security agents. It is the Casino group that embarks on this experiment.
Only an experiment?
The hypermarket in question is a giant hypermarket located in Angers. For several months now, Casino has run some unmanned supermarkets on Sunday afternoons. But for a hypermarket, it's a first. The Casino group assures it, it is about an experimentation and especially not a prefiguration of the hyper of the future. Why choose the Géant hypermarket in Angers? Because it ticks all the boxes for this test: it is a hyper of average size, located in full city, on a place of passage, with a student and family clientele.
Starting August 25, the store will be open on Sunday all day. On Sunday morning, it is already, but sellers and cashiers will disappear in the afternoon, leaving only four people employed by outside contractors: a cash coach and three security guards.
What are the risks for the job?
On the spot, the question of the coherence of such a device arises. Customers are divided, between skepticism for some and misunderstanding for others. "It is true that it is very practical, but I worked in the trade before and I tell myself that it is my job and the jobs of my girlfriends who disappear a little," says a client. "It may be good for progress, but it may be worse for the job, there is plenty of time for shopping, I do not think it's necessary on Sunday afternoon" , says another.
On the employee side, the project is also cringe. And if the disappearance of staff on Sunday afternoon prefigured the hyper of the future: a hyper without cashiers? The experiment will start on August 25th. The Giant Casino de la Roseraie, in Angers, is the only hyper concerned ... for the moment.